PENANCE: Charity

Penance: CharityApparently, Mom was right: Giving really is better than receiving. Over the past three years, four studies have found that giving to friends and donating to charity can increase everything from your happiness to your physical strength. And, yes, there are plenty of apps to help. One is called Donation Connect, which lets you donate to charities instantly, tagging the gift onto your wireless bill. With CauseWorld, you simply walk into certain stores, such as Borders and Trader Joe's, and click a button to say you're there. (You earn points that get turned into charity cash.) Or, for a fresher take on gift cards, check out Tango Card (tangocard.com), a new electronic gift card accepted at ten retailers—from REI to Starbucks—that lets you donate those pesky unused balances to nonprofits like the National Parks Foundation